shineyourlight: 예멘의 세계 문화 유산과 풍물: World Heritage in Yemen

예멘은 아랍인들이 자기 나라에서 시작하였다고 믿고 있다. 예멘은 역사적으로 인류가 이 세상에 나타난 시기부터 거주해온 세계에서 가장 오래된 거주지역이며 우리가 잘 아는 ‘천일야화’의 실제 무대로 알려져 오는 곳이다. 또한 공상과학영화에나 등장할 법한 드라마틱한 산세가 곳곳에 펼쳐져 있으며, 산악마을에는 전통문화의 향기가 솔솔 피어난다.

중동의 작은 나라 예멘은 세계에서 가장 오래된 역사를 지니고 있는 나라 중 하나다. 구약성서에 나오는 이스라엘의 솔로몬 왕을 방문한 시바 여왕이 이 지역을 다스렸던 여왕이라는 학설도 있으며, 고대에는 노아의 아들 셈이 이 나라의 수도인 사나(Sanaa)를 세웠다는 전설도 있다

예멘은 서부 산악지대와 동부 사막지대로 나뉜다. 동부의 룹알할리 사막은 오만과 사우디아라비아의 일부 영토를 차지할 정도로 거대하다. 북서부 고원지대는 해발 1,300~4,000m의 산들이 길게 뻗어 있다. 예멘에서 가장 높은 산은 높이 3,760m의 나비수아입 산(Jabal an-Nabi Shuayb)으로 아라비아 반도의 최고봉이기도 하다.

서부 산악지대는 계단식 밭이 발달하여 비교적 다양한 작물을 재배하고 있다. 특히 이곳은 토양이 비옥하고 규칙적인 강우를 동반하는 인도양 몬순의 영향으로 기후가 서늘하고 비가 많이 내려 농업에 알맞은 조건을 가지고 있다.

산악지형을 이루는 북서부 지역과는 달리 동부 지역은 예멘의 또 다른 지형적 특징을 이룬다. 이 지역에는 건기가 되면 물이 마르는 와디(Wadi) 지형이 대규모로 발달하였다. 특히 와디 하드라마트 주변지대는 하천의 침식작용으로 특이한 유형의 석회암 언덕을 이루어 몇몇 모험가들의 눈길을 끌고 있다.

비록 서부와 북부 지역에 몰려 있지만 예멘은 많은 산들이 밀집되어 있는 나라라고 말할 수 있다. 예멘의 산들은 무성한 산림을 이루고 있는 한국의 산들과는 생김새가 다르다. 대부분 바위산으로 붉은 사암으로 이루어진 것들도 있다. 바위산을 군데군데 키가 작은 초목이 덥고 있다
Yemen

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허리에 찬 단도는 잠비야라고 불리는데, 예멘 남성들의 기백을 상징한다

The city of Gabr Hud (translated as a "grave of the prophet Hud") is located around 140 km north of Al Mukall (the capital of the Hadramaut).

The Haraz Mountains

And this is the city of Taiz - a huge anthill with half a million population. It is located on the main highway between Sana'a and Aden, and you can imagine the quantity of vehicles driving through it every day. The first mention of Taiz is dated to 1713.

The general view of one of the four Rasulid mosques - Al Ashrafiyyah Mosque. It was built during two periods of time - 1295-1297 and 1376-1400. Now it's being restored.

Door managed to be saved since the old times.

Near Al-Ashrafia mosque

And this is new Al-Saleh Mosque. Built in Sana'a just 2 years ago it has already become the major sightseeing of the country. It is named after president Ali Abdullah Saleh who paid for all the building expenses. This is, by the way, about 60 million dollars.

It is equipped with all the modern devices: sprinkler and security systems, air conditioners, audio and video devices. What is interesting, it's not only the faithful who are allowed to visit the mosque but also everyone who wants to do this (as an act of getting closer to the Islamic culture).

The main hall. A man is praying on the right of the picture. Estimate the size of the building.

The main dome from the inside

The Arc of the main hall

One of the corridors

A room for ablution

Al-Saleh Mosque in the night lights

These are the watchtowers from the feudal period of time.

The beautiful village of Kahel

Arabs like dates very much especially during the holy month of Ramadan. They grow the date palms in oases along the sea. One of the biggest ones is located near the city of Zabid.

Those ones which are getting ripe are put into the baskets made of the leaves of the same date palm. They prevent dates from falling on the ground and serve as a protection from birds.
The Beautifull Yemen

Yemen Culture

World Heritage in Yemen
1.Historic Town of Zabid
Zabid's domestic and military architecture and its urban plan make it an outstanding archaeological and historical site. Besides being the capital of Yemen from the 13th to the 15th century, the city played an important role in the Arab and Muslim world for many centuries because of its Islamic university.

Historical Description

It is not certain when Zabid was founded, but it was large enough to become the centre of a province (mihlaf) when Moslem power was established in this fertile region in AD 631; it was originally called al-Husayb, but it is not certain when the name was changed. Its development is due to the founder of the Ziyadite dynasty, Ibn Ziyad, who was sent to the region by the Caliph al-Mamun in 820 to quell a rebellion. He gave it its circular plan, built the fortifications, and brought water to it through a network of canals. The Great Mosque was built and the earlier al-Asa'ir mosque enlarged by later Ziyadids, who ruled the Tihama until 1012. It was sacked on two occasions during this period by religious revolutionaries, but rebuilt.

Like the rest of Yemen, Zabid under its successive Banu Nagah and Mahdid rulers suffered during the troubled period between 1021 and 1159. The palace and part of the fortifications were destroyed and the town contracted in size. Following the pacification of the region by Turansah, brother of Salah ad-Din al-Ayyubi ( Saladin) , Yemen became the centre of one of the leading powers in the east under the Rasulids, first as governors and then as rulers of the region. From 1216 until 1429, Rasulid rulers encouraged learning and built schools for teaching the Koran and the sciences (madrasas), along with the necessary hostels for students, all over the region: of the 62 madrasas recorded in Zabid, 22 still survive. They also built residences for themselves and restored and enlarged existing public buildings.

Zabid lost its political and economic importance under the Tahirid dynasty (1454-1538), but retained its role as a university. With the establishment of Ottoman rule, Zabid was completely neglected in favour of the capital city, Sana'a.

Long Description

Zabid was of great importance in the Arab and Muslim world for many centuries because of its Islamic University. In the 13th-15th centuries it was also the capital of Yemen during the Rasulid period. Its architecture profoundly influenced that of the Yemeni coastal plain: the domestic architecture of Zabid is the most characteristic example of the Tihama style of courtyard house, which is to be found over a wide area of the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula.

The city, which is roughly oval in plan, is situated on a flat clay area sloping gently towards the north. It is not certain when it was founded, but it was large enough to become the centre of a province when Muslim power was established in this fertile region in AD 631; it was originally called al-Husayb, but it is not certain when the name was changed. Its development is due to the founder of the Ziyadite dynasty, who was sent to the region by the Caliph al-Mamun in 820 to quell a rebellion. The Tihama was sacked on two occasions during this period by religious revolutionaries, but rebuilt.

Between 1021 and 1159 the palace and part of the fortifications were destroyed and the town contracted in size. From 1216 until 1429, Rasulid rulers encouraged learning and built schools for teaching the Koran and the sciences (madrasas ), along with the necessary hostels for students, all over the region: of the 62 madrasas recorded in Zabid, 22 still survive. Zabid lost its political and economic importance under the Tahirid dynasty (1454-1538), but retained its role as a university. With the establishment of Ottoman rule, Zabid was completely neglected in favour of the capital city, Sana'a.

With the exception of Sana'a, Zabid has the highest concentration of mosques in any Yemeni city: 86 in all. The core of the town of Zabid is its first mosque, the Mosque of Asa'ir. The Great Mosque lies to the west of the town, possibly on the site of the ancient musalla , an open place for prayer used for meetings. The souk (market) spread from the Asa'ir Mosque towards the Great Mosque. A network of streets and alleys, some as little as 2 m wide, spreads over the town, occasionally opening out into small squares. The only large open space is that in front of the citadel. Each of the 'blocks' formed by the streets has a passage allowing access to the houses.

The basic unit of each house is a rectangular room (murabba ), open on one of its longer sides to an irregularly shaped courtyard, which is surrounded by high blank walls on the street side. The corners of these courtyards are occupied by wells, latrines, washing places and kitchens. This type of structure, built from baked brick, predominates in Zabid, but there are small areas of humbler huts of unbaked clay roofed with straw or constructed of reused wooden planks. They nonetheless conform to the basic room plus courtyard module.

This is one of the three oldest mosque in Yemen, second to the one in Ta'izz. Same as other mosque, the minerat is well equipped with loudspeaker.

Domestic buildings

Even the roof and the internal decorations are sophisticated, unlike those unfinished houses elsewhere.

Once upon a time, Zabid is a well developed scholastic settlement of the area. I guess the climate and terrain is not the same as now. There are many mosque inside this small town. According to our guide, there is one mosque for every ten houses, a very concentrated religious site.

From outside, you can't imagine that there are so much delicate detailes insede this small mosque.

Unfortunately, this technology is vulnerable. Most of these valuable decorations had been lost.

In a mosque at Zabid, we found some ancient sculptures on the wall. 90% of them had faded away. Nevertheless, with a close scruntiny, one will be astounded by its level of details. It is hard to imagine if all the walls here was decorated with these three dimensional calligraphy

Overloading is a typical scene in Yemen. It reminded me of my journey to the desert in XinJiang that one car for five can accommodate 40 people the most (also the craziest).

On the road to Zabid, Honey merchants have their honey farm just by the road.

View of Ta'izz from the castle. the castle is belonged to the military, not allow public to gain access to it.

Ta'izz Castle

Al Asha Mosque

Ancient walls have been left standing in the city of Zabid

2.Old Walled City of Shibam

Surrounded by a fortified wall, the 16th-century city of Shibam is one of the oldest and best examples of urban planning based on the principle of vertical construction. Its impressive tower-like structures rise out of the cliff and have given the city the nickname of ‘the Manhattan of the desert’.

The old walled city of Shibam and Wadi Hadramaut constitute an outstanding example of human settlement and land use. The domestic architecture of Shibam is an outstanding characteristic example of houses in the Arab and Muslim world. The rigorous city planning based on the principle of vertical construction is exceptional and an example of a traditional but vulnerable culture

Sometimes called the 'Chicago of the desert' or the 'Manhattan of the desert', the old city of Shibam presents to historians and urbanists one of the earliest and most perfect examples of rigorous planning based on the principle of vertical construction.

The city is built on a hillock, which has allowed it to escape the devastating floods of Wadi Hadramaut and to become the capital of the territory after the destruction of ancient pre-Islamic capital, Shabwa, in AD 300. Its plan is trapezoidal, almost rectangular; and it is enclosed by earthen walls within which a block of dwellings, also built from earth, have been laid out on an orthogonal grid. The highest house is eight storeys high and the average is five.

The impressive structures for the most part date from the 16th century, following a devastating flood of which Shibam was the victim in 1532-33. However, some older houses and large buildings still remain from the first centuries of Islam, such as the Friday Mosque, built in 904, and the castle, built in 1220.

In Shibam there are some mosques, two ancient sultan's palaces, a double monumental door and 500 more buildings, separated or grouped, but all made uniform by the material of which they are constructed: unfired clay.

Sunset from the tank is a "must" in Shibam (the Manhattan of the desert), Hadramaut region in South Yemen

Habbabah

Shibam, la Manhattan in Desert

Yemen- Shibam, Sanaa 1/2

Yemen- Shibam, Sanaa 2/2

Yemen- Shibam, Shihara, Manakha

3.Socotra Archipelago
Socotra Archipelago, in the northwest Indian Ocean near the Gulf of Aden, is 250 km long and comprises four islands and two rocky islets which appear as a prolongation of the Horn of Africa. The site is of universal importance because of its biodiversity with rich and distinct flora and fauna: 37% of Socotra’s 825 plant species, 90% of its reptile species and 95% of its land snail species do not occur anywhere else in the world. The site also supports globally significant populations of land and sea birds (192 bird species, 44 of which breed on the islands while 85 are regular migrants), including a number of threatened species. The marine life of Socotra is also very diverse, with 253 species of reef-building corals, 730 species of coastal fish and 300 species of crab, lobster and shrimp.

Values

Socotra is globally important for biodiversity conservation because of its exceptionally rich and distinct flora and fauna. 37% of Socotra’s plant species, 90% of its reptile species and 95% of its land snail species do not occur anywhere else in the world. Socotra is of particular importance to the Horn of Africa’s biodiversity hotspot and, as one of the most biodiversity rich and distinct islands in the world, has been termed the “Galápagos of the Indian Ocean”.

Criterion (x): Biological diversity and threatened species: Socotra is globally important for biodiversity conservation because of its exceptional level of biodiversity and endemism in many terrestrial and marine groups of organisms. Socotra is particularly important for its diversity of plants and has 825 plant species of which 307 (37%) are endemic. Socotra has high importance for bird species as underlined by the identification by Birdlife International of 22 Important Bird Areas on Socotra. Socotra also supports globally significant populations of other land and sea birds, including a number of threatened species. Extremely high levels of endemism occur in Socotra’s reptiles (34 species, 90% endemism) and land snails (96 species, 95% endemism). The marine life of Socotra is also very diverse, with 253 species of reef-building corals, 730 species of coastal fish and 300 species of crab, lobster and shrimp, and well represented in the property’s marine areas.

Integrity

The property is of sufficient size to adequately represent all the terrestrial and marine features and processes that are essential for the long term conservation of the archipelago’s rich and distinct biodiversity. The terrestrial nature sanctuaries, national parks and areas of special botanical interest included in the property encompass about 75% of the total land area. They protect all the major vegetation types, areas of high floral and faunal values, and important bird areas. The marine nature sanctuaries included in the property encompass the most important elements of marine biodiversity. The property’s integrity is further enhanced by terrestrial and marine buffer zones that are not part of the inscribed property.

Requirements for Protection and Management

All component areas of the property have legal protection; however there is a need to strengthen the legislative framework, and management and enforcement capacity. Whilst the property’s terrestrial and marine habitats are generally still in good condition, management planning needs to deal more effectively with current threats including roading, overgrazing and overharvesting of terrestrial and marine natural resources. Potential future threats include unsustainable tourism and invasive species. Impacts of these threats on Socotra’s biodiversity need to be closely monitored and minimized. A sustainable financing strategy is required to ensure the necessary human and financial resources for the long term management of the property. Appropriate linkages need to be developed between the management of the property, its buffer zones and the Socotra Biosphere Reserve.

Bottle Tree Qalansia Beach and Lagoon Socotra Island Yemen wallpapers and stock photos

Bottle Tree Qalansia Beach, Socotra Island

An old Indian legend says that many many years ago there lived an evil dragon on Socotra Island. He attacked the elephants and drank their blood. But one day a rather old but still strong elephant fell on the dragon and crushed it. Their blood had mixed and moistened the land around. Later the trees had grown in those places. They were called the dragon trees.

Socotra Island, Yemen

4.Old City of Sana'a
Situated in a mountain valley at an altitude of 2,200 m, Sana’a has been inhabited for more than 2,500 years. In the 7th and 8th centuries the city became a major centre for the propagation of Islam. This religious and political heritage can be seen in the 103 mosques, 14 hammams and over 6,000 houses, all built before the 11th century. Sana’a’s many-storeyed tower-houses built of rammed earth (pisé) add to the beauty of the site.

Within its partially preserved wall, Sana'a is an outstanding example of a homogeneous architectural ensemble whose design and detail illustrate an organization of space characteristic of the early centuries of Islam which has been respected over time. The houses of Sana'a, which have become vulnerable as a result of contemporary social changes, are an outstanding example of a unique, traditional human settlement. Countless partial studies have been made of the houses of Sana'a, with the objective of eventual demolition. The beauty of the urban landscape of Sana'a, whose overall appearance should remain intact, attests that they should be preserved integrally.

The City of Sana'a, capital of Yemen since 1962, is a fine example of artistic and pictorial quality, now considered to be a homogenous ensemble made up of tower-houses built from rammed earth. Its history covers a period of over 2,000 years. Given official status in the 2nd century BC when it was an outpost of the Yemenite kingdoms, Sana'a (Arabic for 'fortified place') was associated with all the major historical events that took place in Arabia Felix. The site of the cathedral and the martyrium constructed during the period of Abyssinian domination (525-75) bear witness to Christian influence whose apogee coincided with the reign of Justinian.

The remains of the pre-Islamic period were largely destroyed as a result of profound changes in the city from 628. Beginning with the early years of the Hegira, Sana'a became a major centre for the spread of the Islamic faith. The Great Mosque is said to have been constructed while the Prophet was still living, with materials recovered from the Ghumdan Palace and the cathedral.

The successive reconstructions of Sana'a under Ottoman domination, beginning in the 16th century, respected the proportions and balance of the medieval city while changing its appearance. At the same time, a new city grew up to the west of the first settlement and is contiguous with it. The new city covers a similar surface area.

The houses in the old city are of relatively recent construction and have a traditional structure. The stone-built ground floor houses provisions and livestock. A staircase leads to the upper floors which normally comprise, successively, a large common room, which served as a meeting room for business affairs; the divan, used exclusively for festivities and family gatherings; smaller, private living quarters; and, last, on the top floor, the mafraj, a room where men meet in the afternoon. Large windows line three walls of the room forming a kind of loggia. The only differentiating feature of these tower-like houses is the size and number of floors (there may be as many as nine), and the quality of the ornamental and painted decoration of the windows, friezes and coping.